EU conference addresses education obstacles facing Syrians

AMMAN — The EU and German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) on Sunday held a conference to discuss higher education issues faced by Syrian refugees in Jordan, according to a joint statement.

The conference, titled, “Syrian Students in Jordan: Time to Start Over”, was held with the patronage of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Walid Maani and 120 participants from ministries, international and non-governmental organisations, universities and Syrian students in Jordan.

The conference resulted from workshops for Syrian students held by the European Union’s EDU-SYRIA programme, which took place at the German-Jordanian University, Zarqa University, Luminus Technical University College and Zaatari camp. The recommendations from the workshops were presented at the conference in the form of dialogue sessions, the statement said.

EU Ambassador to Jordan Andrea Fontana also attended the event expressing the EU’s “gratitude to Jordan, which has made huge efforts to address the Syrian refugees’ needs. We believe students have the right to fulfil their life aspiration and self-realisation, therefore the scholarship programmes supported by the EU and implemented by its partners, offer an important variety of opportunities and choices”.

According to the statement, the conference was funded in part by the EU’s “Madad” Fund and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.